2016 Oscars Live Blog: Predictions, Results & Analysis

The day has finally arrived: the 2016 Oscars are upon us, and we're here to give you predictions, award results and more in our Oscars live blog. We'll be constantly updating this post throughout the night with the latest news from Hollywood's showcase night; to see the latest information posted, just refresh the page and look at the top, below this introduction.

The Oscars ceremony itself begins at 8:30 p.m. ET. It is hosted once again by Chris Rock, and comes to us live from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. But the action on the red carpet will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET, and we'll be giving you updates from that, too.

For those of you who don't like reading, here's the short version: "The Revenant" should clean up and win Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role and Director. It has been an interesting Oscars season, however, and "The Big Short" and "Spotlight" could shake things up quite a bit tonight.

Stay tuned beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET for updates from the red carpet and final news and notes heading into the ceremony.

LATEST UPDATES (all times Pacific)

BEST PICTURE: "Spotlight"
Well, I am surprised. I figured The Revenant was a very heavy favorite going into tonight. Turns out, "Spotlight" takes home the big award. And look: this was an incredible film about an important subject that I will rewatch dozens of times in the coming years. So it's deserving. It just wasn't my favorite of the year. But that's okay.

BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"
Finally, after all these years. DiCaprio was stunning in this film, and he won the award he should have won so many times before.

BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson, "The Room"
Larson was perhaps the heaviest favorite on this entire show, so this is no surprise. Her performance in this film was otherworldly.

BEST DIRECTOR: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, "The Revenant"
Iñárritu becomes the first director to win this award in back to back years. And rightly so. The Revenant was an incredible piece of filmmaking, and Iñárritu's vision is unparalleled.

BEST SONG: Sam Smith

ORIGINAL SCORE: "The Hateful Eight"
Finally, a win for Ennio Morricone, a legendary composer who should really have about four of these awards on his mantle already.

8:15: It's going to be difficult to follow that Lady Gaga performance.

BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION: "Stutterer"

BEST DOCUMENTARY: "Amy"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mark Rylance, "Bridge of Spies"
Well. I didn't see this one coming. I wanted Tom Hardy here, but Stallone was seen as a lock going in even though he was the weakest of the supporting actor nominees. Big shocker.

7:21: This Weeknd person has the worst hair I have ever seen on a real human person. But at least he's singing on pitch, unlike Sam Smith earlier.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: "Inside Out"

ANIMATED SHORT: "Bear Story"

VISUAL EFFECTS: "Ex Machina"
Our first shocker of the night. This was such a great and tense film and the special effects were incredible, but I figured Max was a lock here.

SOUND MIXING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Just gonna win all the awards.

SOUND EDITING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

FILM EDITING: "Mad Max, Fury Road"
This film is starting to stack up the awards. Is it a harbinger of things to come when the big awards come later in the evening?

CINEMATOGRAPHY: "The Revenant"
This one seemed like a no-brainer to me. This was the most beautiful film I saw all year, and that's saying something given the level of quality considered here.

MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Colin Gibson & Lisa Thompson, "Mad Max: Fury Road"
My first incorrect pick of the evening, as I went with "The Revenant" here. But this is a good pick.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Jenny Beavan, "Mad Max: Fury Road"
This was my pick here as well. The costumes in this film were out of this world, which is not to say that the other nominees weren't deserving. But this was a level above.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"
Vikander wins in what was likely a very close race. She had a stellar performance not just in this movie, but also in "Ex-Machina."

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: "The Big Short"
This was a great script that took a dense and difficult subject and made it understandable and also somehow entertaining for the average moviegoer. A deserved win.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: "Spotlight" .
This was almost a shoo-in given the awards it picked up leading up to the big boy. It was a fantastic movie and script, but then I'm a journalism nerd.

5:47: I think Rock did a fantastic job with his monologue. He addressed the controversy surrounding this event in a manner that brutalized the Hollywood elite, but was still funny.

5:30: Finally. Here we go with the real show.

4:28: We're onto the official pre-show and away from the local LA broadcast that was on earlier. Much of the discussion, outside of what people are wearing, has centered on host Chris Rock and how he'll handle the diversity issues that have been in the news. It's a tough job. He has to be smart and funny. He has to be respectful to the people who are nominated. But he still has to make a point. It will be interesting to see how he does it.

2:42: I really don't think I can offer many updates from this red carpet show. Mostly because it is dumb. If something major happens, I'll update. Otherwise, I'll be back for the main show in 2.5 hours.

2:19: I am already tired of this red carpet crap. Some fan won the right to blog from the red carpet and she is screaming with excitement, and I fear she is going to blow out the speakers of my television. Or my eardrums. Which, actually, might be merciful.

2:03: This red carpet show is going to test my resolve. They are hyping a "limo cam" that promises to "capture all of the arrival action." They are also using virtual reality and showing us how to use Google Cardboard.